Housing Opportunities & Maintenance for the Elderly, Inc.
Serving seniors with warmth, connection, and joy is H.O.M.E.’s particular expertise
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The people H.O.M.E serves live on the financial margin. Poverty in aging brings a wide range of challenges from lack of safe housing and limited access to fresh food, to illness and isolation. Nearly half of older adults in Chicago (around 102,000 senior households) earn less than $30,000 a year and struggle to make ends meet. Notably, these seniors are mostly women and people of color, the primary populations H.O.M.E. serves. Many live on the $780 they receive monthly from Social Security with little other financial or family support. Over four decades of research into aging has verified that social isolation is the strongest indicator of an older person’s health. This outweighs physical health indicators such as smoking, physical activity, and blood pressure. Regarding the seniors we serve, 17 percent are male, 83 percent are female; 88 percent are African American; 10 percent are Caucasian; 2 percent are Hispanic and less than 1 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Home Upkeep and Repair Program
Provides affordable repairs to low-income homeowners
Intergenerational Housing Program
Provides affordable senior housing in an intergenerational setting
Shopping Bus
Provides safe, accessible transportation to grocery stores to residents of affordable senior buildings
Moving Program
Provides affordable, holistic moving assistance to low-income seniors
Advocacy & Neighborhood Engagement
H.O.M.E. convenes a coalition aimed at increasing home repair resources for low-income senior homeowners in Chicago.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people in the area with access to affordable housing as a result of the nonprofit's efforts
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, Families, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Intergenerational Housing Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Includes 54 seniors, 11 children, and 28 younger adults provided affordable housing in an intergenerational setting Service numbers impacted by COVID-19
Number of repairs completed for senior homeowners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Home Upkeep and Repair Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Repairs include mobility enhancing improvements, electrical, and plumbing. Repair figures continue to rise, even as complexity of repairs increases. Service numbers impacted by COVID-19
Number of trips provided
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Shopping Bus
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Free of charge shopping bus trips provided to low-income seniors of 28 buildings in Chicago. This includes 7 Chicago Housing Authority buildings. Service numbers impacted by COVID-19
Number of seniors provided affordable moving assistance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Moving Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Affordable moving assistance for low-income seniors relocating to more accommodating housing in Chicago. 97% report monthly income below $1,300 per month. Service numbers impacted by COVID-19.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Since 1982, H.O.M.E. has acted as a social safety net, helping Chicago’s low-income seniors thrive in their community by bringing together a unique combination of services in a supportive environment that recognizes their gifts as well as their needs. H.O.M.E.’s vision is of a Chicago in which people of all ages live together in a way that supports older adults’ connection to the larger community. Additionally, H.O.M.E. is the only organization in Chicago that provides community support services to often overlooked low-income seniors, most of whom are Black women in disinvested neighborhoods.
H.O.M.E. developed an innovative intergenerational housing model based on the value that people of all ages benefit from connecting with one another. Rather than the typical standard of senior-only buildings, senior residents share the same roof as young adults that serve as Resident Assistants and families with children. H.O.M.E. offers 78 units of multigenerational independent housing in three affordable North Side buildings with a choice of private or shared living. H.O.M.E. also helps low-income seniors maintain their independence through a home upkeep and repair service, shopping bus, and moving assistance. Finally, H.O.M.E. connects volunteers to homeowners with painting or weatherization needs, or to help in its buildings as a friendly visitors or guest chef.
When seniors with low incomes live in stable, affordable housing with community support, they thrive. Serving seniors with warmth, connection, and joy is H.O.M.E.’s particular expertise.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
H.O.M.E.’s services include an upkeep and repair program to ensure seniors enjoy healthy and safe living conditions. A shopping bus assists seniors with transportation to grocery stores where they have access to food and supplies that are essential to their well-being. We offer an intergenerational housing program in three affordable buildings where seniors live with families and young adults in private apartments or Good Life Senior Residences, for residents who need some assistance. H.O.M.E.’s moving program offers seniors support and assistance through one of life’s most stressful events—relocating from one home to another. Finally, we connect volunteers to homeowners with painting or weatherization needs, or to help in our buildings as a friendly visitor or guest chef.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 1982, Michel and Lilo Salmon founded H.O.M.E. to provide practical housing services to low-income seniors in Chicago. Seeing a vast need for housing assistance for seniors, H.O.M.E. began by finding affordable housing for displaced seniors. In 1983, the Salmon's vision of an affordable housing alternative took the form of intergenerational group living. The first model and facility of its kind in Chicago, it was a progressive idea rooted in the notion that it is beneficial for older people to live among people of all ages in a community setting. To this day, H.O.M.E.'s intergenerational housing model integrates older adults with families and college-aged youth in a cooperative community setting.
Creating intergenerational experiences that foster a family-like, lively, and supportive environment continues to be a goal of H.O.M.E., and is now accepted as a best-practice model for other programs serving older adults. In addition to enhancing the community, our affordable intergenerational housing creates value to the community. According to a 2016 Genworth Financial report, the average cost of a private room in a nursing home in the City of Chicago is over $94,000 a year, or around $259 a day. However, it costs only $49 a day for a senior to live in our Good Life Senior Residences. Many of our residents are eligible for Medicaid; this cost savings directly decreases costs that would otherwise be paid by Medicaid.
Older adults who live on low incomes drive our passion for serving Chicago's underserved seniors. We focus on safety, affordability, and independence, and we believe in helping each senior achieve his or her greatest quality of life. Since 1982, H.O.M.E. has been the only organization in the City of Chicago to offer housing and housing supports to low-income seniors.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Over our nearly 40 year history, H.O.M.E. has helped thousands of seniors living in poverty in a person-centered way that addresses more than the immediate problems they are facing.
Each year H.O.M.E. impacts the lives of seniors in the following ways:
• The Shopping Bus program provides 2,500 shopping trips to grocery stores and pharmacies for seniors without reliable access to transportation
• The Upkeep and Repair Program performs 750 repairs in 120 low-income senior households. In 2021, the Upkeep Plus Program will provide 20 homeowners with a package of bathroom safety modifications designed to prevent falls
• Intergenerational Housing Program provides affordable housing to at least 54 seniors, 11 children, and 28 younger adults
• The Moving Program provides holistic moving assistance for 52 low-income seniors.
• Volunteers also weatherize 79 windows in 7 homes in the winter, paint 14 homes in the summer, and serve as Guest Chefs in our Good Life Senior Residences, providing spring cleaning, yard work, and sponsored holiday parties for our residents.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Housing Opportunities & Maintenance for the Elderly, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/08/2023
Celeste King
Walker Wilcox Matousek LLP
Term: 2019 -
Celeste King
Walker Wilcox Matousek LLP
Joel Rice
Fisher & Phillips
Brad Winick
Planning/Aging; University of Illinois Chicago
Katie Philpott
Motorola
Cindy Moy
Allstate
Taylor Overstreet
Relativity
Seymour Turner
SMT Strategy
George Yedinak
Aging Media
Christian Harris
MaidPro
Philister Lukacevic
Peer Health Exchange
Betty Akins
Center on Halsted
Lori Beth Irvin
LBIngenuity
Britta Larson
Center on Halsted
Ramya Ramanath
DePaul University
Shreyas Shah
Healthcare Executive
Carl Wahlstrom
Ulta Beauty
Brittany Williams
Mariner Wealth Advisors
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 08/07/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.